


Xenoglossy

by stellarparallax



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Living Together, M/M, Past Abuse Mentions (for the OC), Post-Canon, Road Trips, S8 divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 06:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17462366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarparallax/pseuds/stellarparallax
Summary: Their mobile home was almost roadworthy when a stranger shows up, changing their plans completely. As they spend more time with the stranger, Keith learns more about them, and also himself.Note: I have decided to abandon this fic indefinitely. It will not be getting an update.





	Xenoglossy

The floor of a bus wasn’t the best place to sleep, but Keith and Shiro tried to get comfortable. It trembled slightly as the rain came down heavily and it was hard and dusty. But seeing that their alternative was running across the unsheltered field back to the Galaxy Garrison dormitories, they decided to stay put. Besides, their refurbishing effort was coming along well because of the many nights that they worked till they fell asleep. Soon, they wouldn’t need to crash at neither the dorm rooms nor the desert shack anymore.

Keith snuggled up close to Shiro, desperate to warm himself from the chill that was making a home in his bones. He must have shivered violently because Shiro pulled him closer, his arms wrapping around him tighter. Or maybe Shiro didn’t notice and instead was reaching for any modicum of heat he could get, just like Keith. If they had known that it would rain, they would have brought a blanket or even a sweater. Then again, if they had known that it would rain, they wouldn’t have gone out to the parking lot at all.

As he struggled to fall asleep, Keith thought about their decision to travel across the country. They couldn’t get the funding to _really_ help the people affected by the Galra attack rebuild their communities, but the Garrison gave them just enough to afford a retired bus and the materials to refurbish it themselves. It was enough for them to live in as they offered hope and hard labour to anyone who needed it. It wasn't much but it wasn't nothing.

It seemed like a good decision when they made it, but Keith wasn’t sure anymore. He wasn't sure that the people would be too receptive to them. After all, there were many decisions that the Garrison made during the war that directly put them in worse shape than they otherwise would have been. Would they really welcome help from two people representing the Garrison?

Suddenly, his thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of someone… or something… tapping against the side of the bus. Keith sat up and stretched as he debated whether he should check on that. He glanced at Shiro, who was still sleeping soundly.

Keith couldn’t help but feel warm watching Shiro like that. It had taken months, close to a year, of therapy for Shiro to be able to fall asleep easily again. He kissed Shiro gently on the cheek before getting up to walk to the door of the bus.

Through the dirty glass of the door, he saw a person who was probably a few years younger than him. They were poking at the door with a branch, trying to pry it open. Keith pressed the button to open the door.

“Oh, I thought that… I thought that it was empty. I’m sorry I just—” they stammered.

What’s your name?” Keith asked, unhesitatingly.

“No, I don’t want to intrude. I’m sorry. I have a tent I can... I’m sorry, I won’t bother you—”

Before they could finish speaking, Keith grabbed them by the shirt and dragged them into the bus. As they stepped in, they tracked mud onto the floor and dripped rainwater everywhere. Keith helped them get out of their shoes and coat, before leading them to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Shiro, who was inevitably roused by the ruckus, watched Keith move quickly through the bus, pulling out spare sheets from the boxes of their belongings. He couldn’t help but grin at how frantic Keith looked as he prepared a space for their unexpected guest to sleep.

Finally, Keith noticed him staring and asked, “What?”

“Nothing,” Shiro said, barely masking his amusement.

“Do we have any clean clothes that they could borrow?” Keith asked.

“Check my bag. I should have an extra shirt and a pair of your sweatpants.”

Keith nodded. He walked over to the bag and pulled out the clothes, then set them by the bathroom door. He stood by the bathroom, as if he was guarding it.

“Keith, come to bed,” Shiro said.

“I just want to make sure that they—”

“They’ll be fine,” he assured him.

 

* * *

 

Keith’s head was killing him. He’d always been a bit of a light sleeper and the excitement of having someone almost break into their home clearly didn’t make falling asleep easier. Since he was already awake, he decided to start preparing breakfast. He stumbled as he got to his feet, the day-old fatigue from the repair work starting to burn with every movement.

Sure, he could fight aliens day after day without a hitch but renovating a bus is when his muscles surrender.

The kitchen and the bathroom were the two sections of the bus that had been fully completed. It was mostly because they had gotten professional builders to work on them. The price had been steep, but they decided that it was worth it. You can’t put a price on not having to worry about the kitchen catching fire or a pipe bursting and flooding the bus, as Shiro had reasoned.

As Keith entered the kitchen, which was right next to the area where their guest had been sleeping, he felt uneasy. The sheets that he had laid out had been neatly folded into a small stack on the floor and their guest was nowhere to be seen. He took a step closer to the front door of the bus, then he saw a shadow moving.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said before he thought to stop himself.

They froze. “I appreciate everything you’ve done but… I told you, I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding. Stay for breakfast… please.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know that I’m not throwing a hungry kid out on their ass. So either you—”

“Keith,” Shiro interrupted. “Please stay, we’d be happy to have you.”

Their eyes darted from Keith, to Shiro, then to Keith again. Their body was turned towards the door, poised to leave. Then, a protesting rumble erupted from their belly. Face reddened, they relented. “Fine.”

“Any allergies?” Keith quickly shot back.

“No.”

“Intolerance?”

“No.”

“Anything you prefer not to eat but are too polite to say so and if served will eat it but will hate every bite of it?”

“What? No. Are you going to ask me questions all morning?”

Keith knew he was being too overbearing, but he couldn’t help himself. When he was was living in the orphanage, one of his caretakers had neglected to check on a new girl’s medical records and had accidentally fed her something that she was allergic too. She had been sick all night with no one but Keith holding her hand as she threw up into a bucket. He couldn’t bear it if something like that happened because of him.

“I have a question.”

They turned to Shiro. “Yeah?”

“What’s your name?”

“Rory.”

“Okay, Rory, why don’t you sit down and let us get started?”

Rory nodded and walked over to the dining area, which at the moment was two crates and four thick foam mats.

Keith pulled out a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs from a box of food while Shiro took out butter from the fridge. After setting everything they needed on the kitchen counter, they started to whip up a batch of french toast.

Keith walked over to the dining area and set the plate of bread down on one of the crates. Then, Shiro came with three paper cups of Milo.

“Milo,” Rory said. “Haven’t had that in a while.”

Keith’s eyes softened, “How long have you been living by yourself?”

“Since I was sixteen. I’m nineteen now so… three years, give or take a couple of months.”

Keith and Shiro looked at each other as Rory ate his second piece of french toast.

“So are you two married or something?”

Shiro blushed. “N-not yet.”

“Cool. My foster parents would probably kick me out if they knew I was— Sorry, nevermind.”

“Probably?” Keith raised an eyebrow. “You said you’ve been living on your own for about three years.”

“I have. Wait, do you think that I’m lying?”

“No, we don’t,” Shiro said quickly.

“You think I’m lying.”

“No, Rory, we’re just trying to understand,” Shiro tried to reassure him. “Rory, we just want to help.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want it.” They stood up and put on their coat again. “Thank you for letting me crash and shower… and for the food.”

And just like that, they left. Keith turned away from Shiro, but Shiro pulled him into his arms.

“You know it isn’t your fault, right? Sometimes, kids who’ve been in foster care for as long as they can remember… they miss out on something that makes it hard for them to trust people. You did what you could.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

 

* * *

 

The diner hadn’t changed a bit since Keith and Shiro were last there, vinyl booth seats at all. Keith was even convinced that the waitress who took his order was the same one who took it years ago, before Shiro had even left for the Kerberos mission.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Keith remembered being there once more after Shiro left. It was shortly after the Garrison had declared the crew dead. Adam felt bad for him and took him there to celebrate his birthday.

_“A slice of chocolate fudge cake for the birthday boy!”_

_“But we didn’t order cake.”_

_“It’s already paid for.” The waitress bit her lip before continuing. “Shirogane… Every birthday until you turn twenty-one… If he didn’t come back.”_

Keith’s jaw clenched. Shiro is back now, he reminded himself.

“Something wrong?” Shiro reached across the table to stroke his cheek gently.

“Yeah, uhm, get me my usual.”

“Bacon, eggs and pancakes? Slow down, Keith, you’re not seventeen anymore.”

“Wow, can’t believe you actually remember. I guess your memory is what it used to be.”

Shiro kicked him lightly in the shin.

Keith snorted. “I love you.”

“I love you too— Rory?”

“It’s Keith, actually. I guess you are getting forgetful.”

“No, babe, look! Rory’s outside.”

Keith looked out of the window and sure enough, he saw Rory standing by the street lamp. The hood of their jacket was up and they were looking around for something, someone. They definitely seemed tense.

“What do you think they’re doing here?” Keith asked.

“I want to reserve my judgement but this really doesn’t look good. Should we go out and talk to them?”

“I don’t know, what if it’s nothing? I don’t want them to feel like we suspect them of anything.”

Shiro took a moment to consider Keith’s point. “You’re right. How about we stay here and watch so we know if we need to jump in?”

“Fine with me.”

Keith watched Rory intently while Shiro went to the counter to place their order. Rory paced back and forth, back and forth, clearly getting anxious by the second.

Keith wondered about the kind of life that Rory led, the kind that had them running away from their foster parents, the kind that had them sleeping in a tent during a thunderstorm. It wasn’t exactly what he’d been through himself, but it definitely felt familiar. Maybe what Rory needed was a mentor that would believe in them. Maybe that was that was a pair of shoes he was capable of filling. If that was even what Rory wanted.

Suddenly, a body slammed against the glass window by their booth. Rattled, Keith jumped out of his seat. He squinted at the glass, trying to make out what was happening on the other side. Two bodies were moving, clashing and breaking apart in a violent mess. That was all the confirmation that Keith needed.

Before he knew it, he was standing outside the diner, holding the two apart from each other.

“Woah, woah, enough.”

“Keith,” Rory said between wheezes. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Actually, it does. You’re ruining the view.”

“Dude, let go of me!”

“Only if you give me your word that you’ll stop fighting.”

The two growled back, but Keith didn’t even flinch. He’s faced robeasts and monsters beyond human comprehension. Two skinny teenagers weren’t about to scare him. It was almost adorable that they thought that they would be able to.

Finally, the two stopped struggling.

“Fine,” Rory said.

As soon as Keith released the other teenager, he ran off. If anything, Keith’s grip on Rory tightened.

“What the hell? You said—”

“Have dinner with us. Shiro’s inside.”

“What? I don’t know what you’re trying to do but I don’t need you to take care of me, okay? I’ve been on my own for years.”

“I know.”

Rory’s eyes narrowed.

“I— We just have this problem where we keep ordering more food than we can eat ourselves and we could really use some help.”

They raised an eyebrow, an amused smile dancing on their lips. “Fine, but I’m only eating what you can’t finish.”

Keith let go of them, then led them towards the entrance of the diner.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading till the end! I would really appreciate it if you left kudos and comments.  
> Come yell at me @ [Twitter](https://twitter.com/artparallax) or [Tumblr](https://stellar-parallax.tumblr.com)


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